Live the Edge by Example
A non-profit organization for disabilities

Mission:

Our mission is to enable individuals with disabilities to achieve full use of their talents, capabilities and potentials by promoting well-being through a holistic lifestyle while seeking acceptance and independence. 

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Vision: 

The vision for Live the Edge is to obtain an accessible facility that encourages well-being through inclusion and awareness for people with disabilities and that provides guidance for independent living. 

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Our Core Values: 

 

• Inspiring Resilience: 

 

• Encouraging Independence: 

 

• Leading by Example and Mentoring: 

 

• Gaining Self Awareness: 

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• Gaining Acceptance and Creating Inclusivity: 

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Strategic objectives tied to mission and vision: 

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• Build support for the organization and its growth by increasing awareness and determining a path to success through community outreach. 

• Strengthen our programs, to assist more people in our community with disabilities and improve our public visibility. 

• Better define our organizational budget (with support) and look for areas to add earned income support. 

• To look for partnerships in the disability community that share in our passion and want to create a community center created specifically for people with disabilities.  

• Improve organizational sustainability by determining our staffing levels, looking at areas to contract out (grant writing, social media manager, etc.), and by creating a plan to bring on an Executive Director/Project Manager. 

 

Our Programs: 

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• Wheelchair Athletics 

• Culinary Classes (potential) 

• Greenhouse (potential)

 

 

SWOT 

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Strengths: 

• We have a great story to tell and a strong connection to people in the disability community in our area. 

• We have a strong board/volunteers who help us to be consistent with our goals and to grow. 

• We take a personalized approach to helping people with disabilities thrive and succeed. 

Weaknesses: 

• We need to focus on and improve our programs for sustainability. 

• We operate with limited resources. 

• We are lacking significant donors. 

• Our reach/marketing needs work. 

Opportunities: 

• Funding and partnership opportunities 

• People with stories to tell about living with a disability 

• Opportunities to tell our story and network 

• We have the ability to become stronger in our development and outreach 

• We have opportunities for earned income at the new space through culinary classes, our greenhouse, renting classroom space, our gym, stage, pool and potentially office space 

Threats: 

• Covid-19 

• Competition for funding 

• Empty promises 

• Politicians who do not follow through 

 

 

Environmental Scan - There is no one doing exactly what we are trying to do in the community that we serve. 

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Skill / Resource Gap – what skills/resources are we missing to make our plans a reality? 

• We need to meet with the new mayor and local legislature in January 2023. 

• We need to focus on establishing 1-2 strong programs to prove that we can be successful. 

• We need to focus on grantors and funders that support the disability community. 

• We need to begin to look for a centrally located facility for our programs. 

• We need to meet with potential nonprofit partners to gain support. 

• We need to bold a resource library for medical supplies. 

• We need to create mentorship opportunities thought  Forever Yes, Frazier Rehab, Differently Abled, and Hands NoCap. 

• We need to speak to a CPA to make sure we are handling our finances correctly. 

• We need to do some research and speak to people at Ability 360 to determine how they got started. 

• We need to host a friend-raiser to gain supporters. 

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How Will We Measure Our Successes? 

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• By building a relationship with our participants/athletes. 

• We will measure by our fundraising success/growth. 

• We will track the number of kids/adults going through our programs.